Rishabh Pant had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The southpaw was bought by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a record Rs 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Given that LSG had released their captain KL Rahul before the bidding war, they went all out for Pant and secured his services for a whopping price. However, things didn’t go as expected for the side as Pant failed to get the best out of the team. As a result, LSG finished seventh on the table with six wins and eight losses in 14 games.
What added to the trouble was Pant’s form as a batter as well. The southpaw scored only 269 runs in 14 matches despite hitting a century. His average for the season was 24.45, while his strike rate stood at 133.17.
After the overall performance, many speculated that LSG might release the player. As it turned out, Pant was retained ahead of the mini-auction that took place in December last year.
LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka has defended Pant’s poor form and revealed that the franchise had no intention of leaving the player out.
“If a captain is deprived of his four key bowlers, what is he expected to do? We must, therefore, assess the resources he actually had at his disposal. I have complete faith in him. Sometimes, when people speculate about whether Rishabh will be retained or not, I simply look at it and laugh. Perhaps certain social media platforms are merely chasing views; Sanjiv Goenka makes for a convenient punching bag” Goenka told SportsTak.
The LSG owner praised Pant’s commitment to the franchise.
“He is excellent. He is straightforward and direct in his communication. He strives to give 100 per cent to the franchise. Therefore, when a player, regardless of whether he is the captain or not, gives his absolute 100 per cent, you cannot reasonably expect anything more from him,” he added.
Overall, Pant has played 125 IPL matches, scoring 3,553 runs at an average of 34.16 and a strike rate of 147.61.
LSG start their IPL 2026 campaign with a match against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 1.